Rebeca Grynspan Visits SWAAYAM: A Breakthrough Women’s Empowerment Initiative

Rebeca Grynspan, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator visited Uttar Pradesh to witness the work of Swaayam, a UNDP women’s empowerment initiative supported by the IKEA Foundation. MS. Grynspan inaugurated the Swaayam marketplace, a unique buyer-seller meet aimed at building market bridges for women producers by bringing them in direct contact with potential buyers. On display were pappadums, incense sticks, handicrafts, carpets and dairy products made by a range of women producer companies supported by the partnership. In Jaunpur district, the Associate Administrator inaugurated a bulk milk chilling unit to be run by the Swaayam Ksheer Producer Company, a dairy enterprise of 12,000 women producers and participated in a special village council (Gram Sabha) meeting on women’s issues.